


Conception

by Alice_h



Series: A Place of Our Own [13]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Artificial Insemination, Conception, Established Relationship, F/M, Fertility Issues, Fluff and Humor, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:28:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22508557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alice_h/pseuds/Alice_h
Summary: After their decision to start a family, Bow and Glimmer set about the journey to make it happen.
Relationships: Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Series: A Place of Our Own [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1511849
Comments: 53
Kudos: 36





	1. The First Appointment

**Author's Note:**

> I think this may be the first story in this series without Catra or Adora. They're doing just fine though!
> 
> Also, while I strive for as much accuracy as I can, I have no idea what this process is like for real. I've done a fair bit of research, but this may not accurately represent the true experience of fertility clinic treament for couples such as Bow & Glimmer.

“Bow and Glimmer?” a middle-aged lady with limp blonde hair appeared from a corridor, scanning the room for the couple that would answer. They stood up, and she took a few steps towards to greet them, “Please come this way.”

Bow reassured his girlfriend with a smile, then took her hand and followed the woman back down the hallway she had come from. Ever since they had talked about both wanting a child, an eager Bow had sent emails, made phone calls and checked online to find the best possible clinic for them to use. Now, barely a week after they’d made their decision, they were here for their first appointment. The couple were led into a small, rather sparse office – just three chairs, a bookcase and a small writing desk – and sat themselves down opposite the lady.

Both Bow and Glimmer were experiencing a slightly uncomfortable mix of fear and excitement about the entire thing. From looking after Amber, they both knew in their hearts they would make good parents and were keen to get the ball rolling. However, the realisation that having a child would be a huge upheaval in their lives sat in the back of their minds, continually telling them to think twice and not rush in. They hoped that the initial meeting today would be able to put their minds at rest.

“My name’s Shelly, we spoke on the phone last week. How are you both?” the woman began, opening up a file and writing a few notes at the top of the page. At first glance her harsh, rather angular features made her appear unfriendly, but once she began talking, that impression was dispelled.

The couple exchanged a look, unsure of who would speak first. Bow took the initiative, “We’re good, I think. Right, Glim?”

“Uh, yeah. Bit nervous if I’m honest.”

“There’s nothing to be worried about. So, all we’re doing today is having a chat – about yourselves, your suitability and your health. Then we can work out what our next steps are. There will be one or two personal questions, I’m afraid, but I’ll try not to make it awkward. Okay, let’s begin by talking about you two. How long have you been together?”

Bow proudly patted Glimmer’s leg, “Five and a half years! It’s been wonderful. Oh, and we’ve been living together for two years.”

“Aww, that’s lovely,” Shelly grinned to herself, writing it down, “I’m so happy for you both. Now obviously you’re here because you want to start a family, but why now? What’s brought you here today?”

“We think it’s just the right sort of time,” Bow again took the lead in answering, “Our best friends have got an adopted daughter; we look at their little family and it seems so perfect. We’ll quite often look after Amber, too, and she’s an incredible girl. We just thought, ‘hey we’re pretty good at this, why don’t we have one of our own?’ and here we are. If we could conceive our own child together, we absolutely would but, you know, I’m trans so it’s not possible. Yet.”

The older woman nodded, “And you’re not going the adoption route yourselves?”

“No, I think we would prefer that biological link. Not to say that our friends love Amber any less; she is one hundred percent their own. But we both agree that the whole experience of having a child ourselves is something that we want.”

“I understand entirely, lots of people I see feel the same way. Now, you mentioned you’re trans. I don’t want to assume anything, but I do need to clarify. Who will be the one to carry the baby?”

Glimmer raised her hand, “That’d be me. I don’t know if he even could anyway, but yeah - it’s going to be me.”

“Have you been pregnant before? Tried for a baby with a previous partner?”

“No, neither. Although, well… I did once have a slight scare with an ex-boyfriend, but the morning-after pill did the job,” she could feel Bow’s eyes staring at her, “What? It was before we knew each other!”

Shelly continued scribbling a few words on the page, “That’s fine, it’s not something we’ll need to consider. But it means we may need to do a few tests just to see if you’re likely to be able to conceive through insemination. So, moving onto your medical history, Glimmer. Are you in good health? No illnesses or anything?”

“Nothing, no. I’m all good.”

“Have you had any issues with your reproductive system at all?”

She shook her head, “Not that I’m aware of.”

“Regular periods?”

“It’s like clockwork down there,” Glimmer felt silly the moment the words left her mouth, “Um, sorry. Yes, regular.”

Shelly chuckled, “And when was the last one?”

“Like, a week, 10 days ago?”

“OK, and do you drink or smoke?”

Glimmer’s gaze fell. She’d know the question would have come up sooner or later. Here was the point at which she’d be told they’d never let someone like her have a child. She might as well go home right now. With a sigh, she rattled off the admission that she knew by heart at this point, “I don’t smoke. And I don’t drink either, because I abused alcohol for a couple of years when I was younger. That’s me out, isn’t it?”

Sensing her worry, Bow placed an arm around her in solidarity. He wasn’t able to find out whether a history of alcoholism would disqualify them from a fertility clinic’s process – the client leaflet mentioned nothing, and from his online research, he couldn’t get a firm answer one way or the other. All he could do was try and reassure his girlfriend that if it was a problem, they would find another way.

“How long ago was this?” Shelly wasn’t giving anything away with her expression, which only served to intensify Glimmer’s fear.

“I’ve been sober six years.”

“Oh! Well congratulations on that, that is incredible!” her face lit up, making the couple relax, “If it’s more than two years ago, it won’t affect anything, so you are well outside of that.”

“See, it’s absolutely fine, Glim,” Bow brought her in closer, “So what’s next?”

She finished writing some more notes before answering, “You’re both very impressive and we’d like to help you. First, Glimmer, you’ll need to take a couple of standard tests – just checking for anything that could pose a problem with the conception or pregnancy. After that, you’ll be able to choose a donor. Once you’ve done that, the first step is self-insemination which will be done here. If it keeps failing, we’ll look at more technical options. If you’re very lucky, you could be seeing a baby in a year or so! Now, is there anything you’d like to ask me before we go?”

Glimmer couldn’t stop herself beaming with excitement at hearing the news. She began to imagine herself heavily pregnant, waddling around and watching Bow turn the spare room into a nursery. The image was so vivid in her mind and so amusing that she almost started giggling to herself – thinking about her boyfriend stretching to reach the ceiling with a paintbrush whilst she sat in a comfortable chair, the weight of a child pressing down on her. She had such an intense desire to bring it to reality, and now she was a step further towards it.

There was, however, one issue that had been floating around her mind for some time. Glimmer had to take a few moments to work up the confidence to ask, “There is a small question and… I feel really awkward for asking.”

“Not at all, we’re here to make sure you’re happy,” Shelly reassured her, “What would you like to know?”

“Well… when we choose a donor, do we get any information about them? I don’t want to sound horrible, but look at us, if we somehow had a child together it’s not exactly going to be pasty white.”

“That’s not a horrible question at all. You’ll be given some basic information about the donors before you choose – things like their height and weight, their hair and eye colour, medical history and yes, you will be able to know their ethnic background.”

The younger woman heaved a sigh of relief, “That’s good, I guess… uh, thanks.”

“Excellent. So that’s us done – you just need to make an appointment for the tests at the front desk, and we’ll see you very soon,” walking the few steps to the door, Shelly held it open while the couple filed out, “Lovely to meet you both.”

Once they had booked their follow-up, Bow and Glimmer left the clinic with an overwhelming sense of anticipation. Where worries had previously tempered their excitement, the positive outcome of the meeting had replaced them with the thrill of knowing it was finally going to happen. Neither could stop running over scenarios in their mind: holding their child for the first time, the first words, first steps… The rational parts of them knew that was a long way off – there was no guarantee it would happen quickly or easily, but it now seemed more permissible to daydream about those moments than it had earlier that morning. The first hurdle had been cleared, and soon they would be on their way to starting their family.


	2. Attempt Number One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first try at becoming pregnant is awkward for both Bow and Glimmer. But they'll manage somehow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I had more of this done that I realised when I posted the first chapter - I'd have put them up together if I'd known. I had a LOT of fun with this one, some parts made me laugh for a good few minutes, so I hope you get the same!

The weeks since their first appointment continued to be filled with hope. Glimmer’s test results came back without anything for concern, meaning that they were quickly able to progress onward to the next stage. That meant choosing a donor, and it was not an easy task for the couple – thankfully the clinic had an online system set up which allowed them to easily narrow down to their requirements, although it was still a difficult decision to make. Knowing that their choice now would have repercussions through their child’s entire life was a heavy cross to bear, and it took them several days to make their selection. The donor they chose was known to them only as ‘SM/02145’, but they knew he was a 35-year-old man of Afro-Carribbean descent. He was also a relatively small 5 foot 9 – height had been another issue for them. Given that each of them was well under six feet, they didn’t want their child to tower above them by the time it had reached adolescence.

After letting the clinic know their choice, it became a waiting game for Glimmer to get to her most fertile – a phrase that made them both feel so incredibly awkward that they instead used the euphemism of ‘reaching maximum power’. Thus, the lead up to the day was fraught with as much anticipation as it was nervous ‘over 9000’ jokes. Part of this was down to their decision not to tell anyone – their friends knew they were thinking about starting a family, but they wanted to be sure it was going to happen before they said anything else. It meant, however, that they had to keep the excitement between themselves, which only intensified it.

When the day arrived, they were almost uncontrollably energetic. The woman at the front desk got one of the most enthusiastic greetings she’d ever received, and the nurse who fetched them from the waiting room had the same treatment from the couple.

“Wow, you seem very eager!” she smiled sweetly, stopping outside a door at the end of the corridor and handing them a small plastic box, “Here’s your sample, your syringe and there’s a private room just here for you. If you need anything, just let me know.”

Bow and Glimmer entered the room, closing the door behind them. They didn’t expect to be disturbed, but Bow made sure to lock it anyway, valuing their privacy. It was a homely space, almost like a bedroom, with a single bed in one corner, a couple of armchairs along the opposite wall and a small table in the centre. If it wasn’t for the long, bare corridor they’d just walked along, they could easily have believed they were in someone’s house.

“Alright, time to baby me up! What the _hell_ do I do?” she giggled, opening the box and holding the small jar up to the light, “Wow, I didn't realise there would be this much…”

Her boyfriend took the sample from her, intrigue causing him to stare into it with a mixture of disgust and wonder, “Can you believe this could one day be our kid?”

“Gross. Just don’t think about the guy producing that – holding that jar in one hand while the other was full of his c-”

“Guuuaaaagh, Glimmer, no!” he quickly placed the sample on the table, his body recoiling in horror, “That’s disgusting – why would you even say that when I’m _holding the damn thing_?”

She cackled with laughter, “Just wanted to see the look on your face. Anyway, we’d best get this show on the road… what’s the first step?”

“Maybe you should lie on the bed?”

“Yeah, I’ll do that,” Glimmer nodded and hopped up, laying herself down with her hands cradling her head, “Ooh, this is really comfy. Wanna come join me?”

“That’s not really what we’re here for, Glim,” Bow tried to keep his girlfriend on track with what they were doing. He could see she was tense, but there was an important job to do, "We need to somehow get this inside of you."

“Oh yeah, maybe I should get undressed or something.”

“Not fully, just pull your trousers down if you want.”

She giggled again, “I’ve had worse chat up lines. They worked, too.”

The scolding look he gave silenced her, and she slipped her shoes off, letting them drop onto the floor before pulling her jeans and underwear off and throwing them at the end of the bed. She felt a little self-conscious and vulnerable laid there with the entire bottom half of her body exposed.

“Would you stop looking at it?!”

Bow rolled his eyes, “Nothing I’ve not seen before, Glim. Should I give you the… uh, jar now?”

“Can you get it in the squirty thing? I don’t want to get some random dude’s seed all over my hands.”

“Oh, but it’s fine for me?” he protested, but did as she asked anyway, opening the lid of the container and placing the syringe in. He squeezed the top a couple of times, and it filled up, ready to be used, “Do you want me to do it?”

Glimmer gave her approval with a thumbs up, and Bow set the container aside, moving the syringe around in his hand to get what he thought would be the best angle. He knelt down next to the bed and approached the target with his hands trembling, knowing that it was essential to get this part right.

“Should I squirt it all at once or bit by bit? I don’t really know how these things work in real life… You know what, it doesn’t matter, I’ll just do what feels best,” he moved closer, trying to balance the requirement to look at what he was doing with sparing his girlfriend’s privacy as much as possible. The end of the nozzle slowly came into contact with her skin.

“Holy Mother of Assholes that’s freezing!” Glimmer shot upright, leaving Bow’s hand frozen in place between her knees.

“For goodness sake, Glim, I almost got it all over the bed!”

It took a lot of effort to stifle her laugh, making her sound as though she was choking, but she couldn’t keep it from exploding out of her, “Premature ejaculation is nothing to be ashamed of, Bow.”

“It is when it’s costing us several hundred bucks! Look, if you’re going to be like that, you should do it yourself.”

She took the syringe from him, inspecting it closely, “Hey little guys! Fancy a trip to Ute-niversal Studios? Then allow me to be of cervix!”

“Please be serious, Glimmer,” Bow was beginning to get a little weary of her attitude. This could be the moment that changed their lives, and here she was horsing around, “This isn’t a joke to me. I really want to be a dad.”

“Sorry, I’m just so nervous, I want this too. Look, I’ll do it now,” she brought the syringe back between her legs and pressed slowly onward, wrenching it away as it made contact, “Shitting hell, that’s still really cold! Maybe we should do this another time.”

“Glim, we can’t. Your… you know, your power level is at its highest today, it _has_ to be now.”

Glimmer closed her eyes. Bow was right, of course; if she gave up now, it would only increase the likelihood of having to delay the whole thing. She wanted to be a mother – that had to be the overriding thought that gave her the confidence to do this. Yes, it was cold and yes, it was scary, but she needed to do this - for herself, for Bow, for their child. She tensed her body and returned her hands between her thighs. A moment later, she proudly held up the empty tube to her boyfriend.

“All done?”

“Yep! Thought it’d feel different though – didn’t even get off once,” she stuck her tongue out at him, "I don't think we'll have a second date."

Bow handed back her underwear, “Well, we can sort you out when we’re home… Oh no wait, can we? I should ask the lady on the way out.”

“Please don’t.”

Before they left, the clinic advised them that it would be at least two weeks before they’d be able to tell if the procedure had worked, and that day instantly became the most important thing in their lives. They would often remind each other how many days left until they could take the test to find out, and Bow even put a countdown timer on his phone to tell Glimmer exactly how many hours, minutes and seconds she had to wait. It was no surprise, then, that on the day itself, Bow’s excitement woke him up at 5am. He left his girlfriend sleeping and set out to locate a 24-hour drugstore that could provide him with what he needed.

Upon returning home, he found Glimmer sprawled across a sofa, wrapped up in a blanket. He opened the curtains, letting light flood into the room, “It’s been two weeks! I got up early and I’ve been out to get you this!”

He reached into a carrier bag and pulled out a small purple box that he raised aloft like some type of holy relic.

“Bow...”

“It’s a pregnancy test! Now I know she said today would be the _very_ earliest we could tell, so we might still not know, but-”

“Bow, please...”

He waved the box around, a silly grin plastered across his face, “I know it’s a stupid idea, I just thought-”

“I’m not pregnant!” she didn’t mean to yell, but the emotion had been building since she awoke. Her boyfriend’s overenthusiastic manner only made it bubble over into anger.

He put the box down to one side and perched on the arm of the sofa, “She did say you might not be able to know for sure this early, so... Oh, that’s not it, is it?”

Glimmer shook her head solemnly, “Came on this morning.”

“On what? Oh, on your period...” Bow shuffled himself underneath the blanket to hug her, “I’m so sorry, Glim.”

She began sobbing, “It’s fine, it happens. Only, like, every month for the last 18 years. I just... I just hoped this time would be different. Bow, I wanted this so much, I really did.”

“I know, darling, I know,” he brought Glimmer closer, letting her cry into his shoulder as he rubbed her back soothingly, “Let it out.”

They’d known this was possible – likely, even, given that it was their first try – but it still felt like their dreams had been taken away from them. What hurt Glimmer the most was that all the effort they’d been through, the excitement and the anticipation, it had all been taken away in the seconds after waking up. Weeks of fantasising about the day she saw that little line tell her she was going to have a baby gone in an instant. It took her a couple of tearful minutes to compose herself enough to talk, “I want to be a mum so bad. It hurt so much when I realised what was happening, it really hurt, Bow.”

“I know, it’s okay Glim. We’ll try again next month – and if it doesn’t work, the month after. And again, and again, no matter how many times or whatever we need to do. You’re going to be an amazing mother – I promise you that it _will_ happen, and I’ll be right here with you.”

She raised her head, her tear-lined eyes finding a hint of the same in his, “I don’t deserve you, Bow.”

“Tough. You’re stuck with me. No matter what happens, I’ll always be here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're going to come back to their subsequent attempts a little later on, but coming next is a really big one. This means it might be a week or two before I start posting it (i want to get a good chunk of the whole thing done first), but it'll hopefully be worth the wait. One chapter contains a scene that is, by far, the saddest thing I have ever written... be prepared!

**Author's Note:**

> I love these two, they're so cute together.
> 
> In the next chapter: Glimmer makes reproductive system puns


End file.
